Lepidotidae
| Lepidotidae Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Fossil of Scheenstia maximus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Lepisosteiformes |
| Family: | †Lepidotidae Owen, 1860 |
| Genera | |
|
See text | |
Lepidotidae is an extinct family of ray-finned fish in the order Lepisosteiformes. Most of the species were assigned to the genus Lepidotes, which was called a wastebasket taxon for a long time. They are close relatives of the gars. Members live in marine and freshwater environments.[1]
Taxonomy
- Lepidotes Agassiz, 1832
- Scheenstia López-Arbarello & Sferco, 2011
- Camerichthys Bermúdez-Rochas & Poyato-Ariza, 2015
- Isanichthys Cavin and Suteethorn, 2006
Description
Representatives of the family had bulky bodies and small fins, proving they swam slowly. Lepidotes had marginal teeth for grasping and palatal teeth for crushing prey. Scheenstia had rounded teeth that were historically called toadstones.
References
- ↑ Cavin, Deesri & Olive 2020, pp. 513–527.
Sources
- Cavin, Lionel; Deesri, Uthumporn; Olive, Sébastien (2020-03-18). "Scheenstia bernissartensis (Actinopterygii: Ginglymodi) from the Early Cretaceous of Bernissart, Belgium, with an appraisal of ginglymodian evolutionary history". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (6): 513–527. doi:10.1080/14772019.2019.1634649. ISSN 1477-2019.